The present invention relates to computer peripherals, and in particular to a portable storage device that includes a display.
The last few years have brought a great rise in the popularity of portable mass storage devices. These devices follow a variety of forms and standards but usually share some common features. It is according to the following features that the term “portable mass storage device” and “portable storage device” will henceforth be defined: 1) it contains a non-volatile storage unit, 2) it allows for the storage of large amounts of data, typically in the megabyte or gigabyte range 3) it is operatively and reversibly connectable to an electronic appliance, 4) it is energized by a host electronic appliance and has no independent self-powering capabilities such as batteries, and 5) it is pocketable, in the sense that a user can easily carry the device on his or her own person. A portable mass storage device may be implemented in a number of ways ranging from a memory card for storing digital image files to a USB flash drive operatively connectable to a computer.
Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a standard portable storage device 100 of the prior art connected to an appliance 150. Portable storage device 100 contains a storage unit 120 for storing digital data. Storage unit 120 is a non-volatile memory that allows the writing, reading, and erasing of data. A controller 115 is used for regulating the flow of data to and from  storage unit 120 and for logically interconnecting the different components of portable storage device 100. A power interface 105 receives electrical power for operating the various components of storage device 100. Device 100 also includes a data interface 110 that manages data exchange between controller 115 and appliance 150. A display unit 125 is electronically controlled by controller 115, and is commonly used to give a visual indication of the operation status of portable storage device 100, for example: to indicate whether device 100 is energized, or in the case that device 100 supports more than one communication standard, which communication standard is being used. Controller 115 uses its computational resources to determine the status of device 100, for example to determine whether device 100 is energized, and signals to display unit 125 to give a visual indication of that status. Display unit 125 typically utilizes light emitting diodes (LED) as its primary display technology. Display unit 125 typically consists of one or two LED segments in a simple configuration and in a narrow range of colors, thus, the ability of display unit 125 to exhibit complex visual indications is limited. For example, if a USB flash drive can communicate with a host device using one of two communication standards, prior art display units would indicate the use of a first communication standard by lighting a LED lamp in a first color, and indicate the use of a second communication standard by lighting a LED lamp in a second color. This kind of visual indication is non-intuitive and often misunderstood by users. The information displayed by display unit 125 is also regularly state-based and not quantity or quality oriented. Appliance 150, is a device that is reversibly operatively connectable to portable storage device 100, for example a digital camera or a computer. Appliance 150 is operative to implement a number of functions 168. For example, if appliance 150 is a digital camera its function 168 include the digital  recording of visual images. In order for a data exchange between portable storage device 100 and appliance 150 to take place, an electrical power link 166 and a data link 167 have to be established. Electrical power link 166 connects a power supply 155 of appliance 150 to a power interface 105 of storage device 100 in a way which energizes storage device 100. Data link 167 connects a data interface 165 of appliance 150 with a data interface 110 of portable storage device 100. It should be noted that in many cases, as in the case of USB connectors frequently used in portable storage devices, electrical power link 166 and data link 167 form part of the same connector. Having established links 166 and 167, portable storage device 100 is generally operable, meaning that portable storage device 100 can perform its general purpose of reading, writing and erasing data packages. For example, appliance 150 may read information stored on storage unit 120, or data originating from appliance 150 may be written to storage unit 120.
In addition to LED, there are other display technologies known in the art. Among these display technologies the dominant ones are Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and Electro-Luminescent elements (EL). These technologies, along with a more complex configuration of LED lamps, can achieve a better visual representation of information than the single/dual LED segment display that is regularly used in portable storage devices. However, these technologies are not presently being used in portable storage devices.
Electronic ornaments are an up-and-coming trend in the world of fashion and technology-based apparel. An electronic ornament is a wearable device that includes a display unit that can emit programmable visual signals that achieve an eye-pleasing effect. Wearable electronic devices that do not produce programmable eye-pleasing visual signal when worn are not considered electronic ornaments herein. An electronic  ornament may be a single-purpose dedicated device such as a wrist-watch or pendant exhibiting a predetermined visual pattern. More-advanced electronic ornaments also allow for the updating of the visual display by including optional connectivity to an external device. The Nokia Medallion produced by Nokia Group, Espoo, Finland is an example of an advanced prior art electronic ornament. The ornament displays a digital image and is also connectable through infrared communication to a cellular phone for uploading digital images to the ornament. Thus, the displayed image may be replaced and updated. The miniaturization of common hand-held devices such as digital cameras and cellular phones further challenges the definitions of electronic ornaments, for these devices are becoming compact enough to be wearable and also regularly include means of display. Yet, none of these devices falls under the aforementioned definition of portable storage devices. An electronic ornament's basic requirement for an on-board portable electrical power source as a condition for operation, and the lack of such a power source in portable storage devices, has lead to the fact that portable storage devices are not usable as electronic ornaments. It should be noted that electronic ornaments usually utilize the same display technology (LED) that currently is used in the portable storage device arena as display units 125, as well as the technologies. (LCD, EL) mentioned above that currently are not used in portable storage devices as display units 125.
Considering the possibility of enhancing the information displayed by a portable mass storage device, by using display technologies other than just LED, and the growing popularity of electronic ornaments, it would be advantageous to have a portable storage device with enhanced display capabilities that can also double as an electronic ornament. 